Buyers Guide

As your personal guides and trustworthy agents, we strive to give you the very best of the best. This is one of the biggest purchases you will make in your life and can seem overwhelming at times. You may be asking, “What do I need to do to buy a house?”. We are here to simplify, ease and guide you through this process. Here is a step-by-step guide that organizes the home buying process.

Things to consider when buying a home:

•        The right home according to your needs and wants

•        Being financially prepared

•        Mortgage Pre-Approval

•        Buyer Representation – Hire an Agent

•        Time

•        Home Search

•        Make an Offer – Price & Terms

•        The Process

•        Prepare for Closing

•        Possession

•        Follow Up

Finding the Right Home

IT STARTS WITH LISTENING – We listen to what type of place you are looking for

•        Understanding your needs today

•        Make a list of wants to compare with your needs

•        Understanding your plans for the future

–       Family composition - # of bedrooms, bathrooms…

–       Location: do you want to live close to a school, downtown, waterfront…

–       Type of ownership: Freehold is when it is all yours, a condo is when you take care of the inside and pay your fees to the association – remember that a condo fee is an extra fee to take into consideration for mortgage approval and budgeting

Be financially prepared

•        Am I financially stable?

•        Calculate your current household expenses

•        Calculate your total monthly payments

•        How much do you think you can afford to spend on housing each month?

•        Understand the costs of home ownership – Link to a page for this

•        Learn about the hidden costs

•        How much do you need to save to pay for the upfront costs of buying a home? – Link to a page for this

•        Upfront costs can include: down payment, home inspection, appraisal fee, insurance costs (title insurance, fire insurance, PST on Insurance premium), Land Transfer Tax, pre-paid property tax or utility bills (adjustments done through your solicitor), legal fees, moving costs and potential repairs or renovations.

•        Are you a First Time Home Buyer? (Link)

Mortgage Pre-Approval

Having a pre-approval gives you an idea of how much house you can afford and what the potential monthly mortgage payment will be. This will narrow down your search and save time. This saves time during the Offer process.

•        What is your down payment amount?

•        Get Income documents ready. Ie. Employment letters, pay stubs, T1 Generals, Notice of Assessments

•        Meet with a Mortgage Broker or your bank – if you don’t have one, you’re in luck! Heather is a licensed Mortgage Agent (link) and can help you through this process.

•        How much were you approved for?

•        What will your mortgage payment be for that purchase price and compare that to your current budget – you don’t have to spend your full pre-approval amount.

•        Remember that the size of house (s.f.), property tax amount and condo fees can all change this pre-approval amount if they are higher than what was applied for. Keep a close relationship with your mortgage agent and check these #’s once you have found a house! You’ll have the confidence in putting in an offer for a house that you will get approved for.

Now that you have your home search criteria and are pre-approved with a purchase price amount, it’s time to go looking for a home!

Hire an Agent

Buyers and Sellers are on the separate sides of the fence when it comes to home sales. The Buyer wants to purchase for as low as possible and the Seller wants top dollar. You will need an Agent that will be looking out for your best interests.

They are a trained professional who knows your area, listens to your needs and offers you quality services to help you accomplish our goal.

In today’s competitive market place, it is important that you hire someone that can get you the best property at the best price with attention to detail. Follow-up skills are also a big part of this process.

You’ll want an agent that is available to you. You don’t want to feel like you are bothering them with little questions. This is a huge decision! There are no questions too small. We are always available via text, email or phone to ease this process.

Using the latest technologies and innovations, you can find out about available properties sooner and it makes it easier to keep in contact with you.

Saving Time

When buying a property consider the time involved to:

•        Profile properties of interest

•        Find the right home

•        Negotiate with prospective sellers

•        Manage the process

We will help minimize your personal time while finding you the right home and the right price

Start your home search!

Now comes the exciting part! You already know the type of home you're looking for and the price you can afford. Your agent will set up a property search to be sent to you by email. You will be notified as soon as a new property enters the market that matches your criteria. Make a favourites list of potential properties. It's time to hit the pavement or in some areas, dirt roads running!

Send your list to your Agent and they will plan and time a route to visit these properties accordingly. They will book the appointments usually for hour increments for each property. Some may take 5 minutes and the ones you fall more in love with may take longer.

During your showings, if you visit a property that isn't inline with your goal, it is easy just to erase it from your mind. However, if it is inline, you can easily add it to your shortlist for a 2nd showing or even write an offer. Quickly identifying a property which is inline with your goal will save you the headache of viewing hundreds of homes and getting discouraged.

Make an Offer!

Now that you have found a house, it’s time to make an offer.

Real Estate negotiation is a skill developed through training and experience. Your Agent will help you determine if the property is worth the asking price. They will check comparable sales of homes sold recently in the area and compare to the availability of similar properties at a better price. They will determine outside factors that may affect future property values and marketability.

Not all offers are the same. Your Agent will help you with specific terms and conditions that will be specific to your needs and the house you are purchasing. The price you want to pay, closing date, financing conditions, home inspections, water and sewer sources, inclusions and exclusions (appliances, lighting, furniture etc.) are some examples.

If the Seller doesn’t like something in the offer, counter offers and negotiations can be presented to come to a mutually fair agreement.

The Process

Now that you have an accepted offer, it’s time to satisfy any conditions that we put in the offer by the Conditional Date. We will help guide and manage this process with you.

You will need to submit your deposit that accompanies the Offer.

Get in touch with your Mortgage Broker. They will need your Offer and MLS Listing and get your approval complete.

We will book the potential home inspection during a mutually convenient time for all. Review this report.

HOME INSPECTION:

A home inspector will inspect and evaluate the interior and exterior of a house, looking for several things (including but not limited to the following list). A good inspector will:

Check all electrical outlets, switches and the fuse/breaker panel.

Flush toilets and turn on faucets to make sure they work and to determine water pressure.

Open and close all the windows.

Check the floors, walls and ceilings for any defects.

Check the basement or foundation for any water leakage.

Inspect the heating and cooling systems.

Check out the attic and any crawl spaces to assess insulation.

Examine in the closets and under the stairs.

Inspect chimneys and flues (in some cases chimneys require an additional inspection from a specialist).

Inspect roof and eaves troughs.

Look around the entire exterior of the building structure looking for signs of weather damage.

Look for any issues with exterior decks and railings.

Inspect the foundation looking for cracks or other issues.

Check the grading around the foundation.

Inspect the septic system and/or well. It is usually helpful to have an inspector that can do all of these.

Once we have completed and fulfilled all the conditions, we can firm up your Offer!

Preparing for Closing

Typical closings are 30-60 days, however they can be quicker or longer. Getting the following items completed as fast as possible will expedite this process.

LAWYERS – If you haven’t chosen your lawyer yet, now is the time to hire one. We can help recommend a few. Once you have your lawyer chosen, they will let you know what they need for required documents to prepare for meeting with them. Your lawyer will set up a time to meet before you take procession to prepare and sign documents. You will need your home insurance information, the balance of your down payment and they will go over other fees and adjustments that are required before you register title and own the home.

DOWN PAYMENT – If your down payment is not readily available in your bank account, now is the time to make those necessary arrangements. If you are using the RRSP Home Buyers Plan, get the necessary forms started and funds transferred. Your mortgage lender will also need to see these steps done and documents to support them. Your Mortgage Broker can guide you through this process.

MOVERS – If you are using a moving company, book early. Movers can fill up fast so call ahead and make arrangements as soon as you can.

INSURANCE – When you meet with your lawyer, they will ask you to bring in your home insurance binder letter. This is a requirement of the mortgage company. Have a copy of the MLS Listing available that will list the specifications of the home.

UTILITIES – You will want to set up these accounts ahead of time. Your lawyer may also have some adjustments on some utilities if the seller paid in advance. These may include hydro, gas, water, phone, cable, satellite and internet. Also, don’t forget to cancel the utilities at your previous address.

MAILING ADDRESS – Gather all your bills, statements, banking, tax information, healthcare, automatic payments, subscriptions and any other organizations you belong. Make a list early so that if you forget any, you have a list to add to. You might also want to have your mail forwarded through the post office for anything else that you may have missed.

FINAL WALK-THROUGH – Just before closing you will want to meet with us at the property for a complete walk through of the home. We can look around and make sure that everything is as it was agreed to in the contract. By walking through the property just before closing, we can notify the lawyers of any issues before they officially close the purchase and keys change hands. If there is a problem, you can still close and keys change hands, however, the seller will be responsible to take reasonable action to remedy the problem or be in breach of the contract.

Congratulations! Welcome to your new home!

You’re ready to move in!

FOLLOW UP

After you take possession, the purchase is complete. But, questions may still arise. We are your Realtors for life! Feel free to reach out and we can help answer or guide you to the answers.